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(Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani will enter the start of the 2026 MLB season healthy to hit and pitch for the reigning back-to-back champions. Nonetheless, despite Ohtani being able to be a two-way star right on Opening Day, the Dodgers are still being cautious with him.
Ohtani pitched deep into the postseason to help Los Angeles win a second straight World Series. The Dodgers, only being a handful of months since Game 7 of the 2026 World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, know that they cannot let Ohtani loose when it comes to pitching.
During a media session on Feb. 17, Dodgers president Andrew Friedman outlined the pitching plan for Ohtani ahead of the 2026 season.
“Last year, he was coming back from surgery, and so we were very deliberate about a lot of things,” Friedman told reporters on Feb. 17 (h/t Dodgers Nation). “This year, we will be less so, but still mindful of it. It’s a heavy load that he takes on that is different from every other player in baseball. A lot of it is reading and reacting.
“Through March, having a throwing program and making sure he’s getting his ups and his arms in a good place, we’ll hopefully get him into a Freeway Series game, put him in our rotation, and then figure out from there how we progress.
“Some of it depends on where he is at that point, but a lot of it is going to be reading and reacting based on how he’s feeling, how he’s recovering, and what the load looks like. At some point, stepping up that level of aggression as we get deeper into the season will be a little bit different than last year.”
Dodgers’ President on Shohei Ohtani as Cy Young Candidate
Moreover, Friedman isn’t putting it past Ohtani to pitch well enough to be a contender for the NL Cy Young Award this upcoming season, despite some of the guardrails he might have.
“I certainly wouldn’t bet against him, and the fact that he is saying that he seems like he’s on a mission pitching‑wise, whenever we’ve seen him on a mission, good things happen,” Friedman added.
“For me, figuring out what we’re able to accomplish in March, where he is as we start the season, what that kind of progression looks like, how he’s recovering, and how things are going will inform us a lot more, and we’ll have a better idea as we get going.”
Shohei Ohtani Plan for WBC With Team Japan
Moreover, Friedman confirmed that, with Ohtani set to play in the 2026 World Baseball Classic for Japan, he’ll be a designated hitter, not a pitcher.
“With Sho, he’s going there to DH,” Friedman said. “He’s not going to pitch in the World Baseball Classic. You know, we sat down and talked to him about it, and just coming off the surgery, coming off the year he had, pitching through October, just the quick turnaround at that kind of intensity coming off surgery. And then obviously we have designs of playing through October this year, with Sho being a big part of that on the mound.
“That, coupled with the idea that he wants to pitch for the next eight years, we want him to pitch for the next eight years, just trying to be really mindful of all of that. And so we sat down, had the conversation with him. He understood it. The competitor in him doesn’t love it, but he understood it.”
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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